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Chambers offers a wealth of experience in advising and representing clients in the following areas of law:
- Computer Misuse. Members of Chambers have prosecuted and defended in cases where the accused has been charged with offences of unauthorised access to computers, contrary to sections 1 - 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. These cases often involve the careful consideration of substantial amounts of computer-generated evidence and so Members of Chambers have developed a firm understanding of how to prepare and present such evidence;
- Contempt of Court. Members of Chambers have considerable experience of appearing in contempt of court proceedings, including at short notice when the court decides to exercise its summary powers under RSC Order 52. This experience extends to cases where the contemnor has interfered with witnesses, published prejudicial material or acted scandalously in the face of the court;
- Copyright infringement. Members of Chambers have acted in cases where the accused has been charged with offences of copyright infringement, contrary to section 107 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. By way of example, Members have appeared in a number of cases brought by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) against publicans for screening television programmes in breach of the broadcaster's copyright in the content of the transmission;
- Data Protection. Members of Chambers have experience in advising in cases that give rise to issues under the data protection legislation. Members have also appeared in cases where the accused was charged with unlawfully obtaining data, contrary to section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
- Defamation. Members of Chambers have experience in obtaining and defending injunction applications to restrain the publication of potentially defamatory material and can be available to do so at short notice. Members also provide pre-publication advice on the content of articles, books, television programmes and feature films. Members also have experience of representing those charged with criminal libel, contrary to sections 4 and 5 of the Libel Act 1843;
- Freedom of Information. Members of Chambers are familiar with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and are able to advise and act in respect of requests for information made under the provisions of the Act.
- Obscenity. Members of Chambers have experience of advising and acting in cases where offences under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 are charged, and have a growing experience of the new offences of possessing extreme pornographic images created by section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
- Official Secrets. Members of Chambers have been involved in a number of cases where issues of secrecy and security have been raised under the Official Secrets Acts of 1911, 1920 and 1989. In this regard, Members have experience of dealing with sensitive matters concerning the unauthorised disclosure of intelligence information and the damaging disclosure of international relations information.
- Privilege and Confidence. Members of Chambers have considerable experience in advising on and acting in cases where questions of privilege and confidence are raised. These include cases where the accused relies on the privilege against self-incrimination to excuse his failure to answer questions or reveal information requested of him, or where the accused wishes to consider waiving his privilege in communications between himself and his lawyer in order to show why he declined to answer questions under caution;
- Reporting Restrictions. Members of Chambers have acted on behalf of those seeking to either lift or maintain reporting restrictions, especially in cases involving young defendants where the court has to perform the difficult task of deciding whether to lift reporting restrictions allowing the publication of the defendants' names. Members appreciate that such application engage the rights of defendants and witnesses under the ECHR and require the court to weigh these rights against the desire for open justice;
- Trade Marks. Members of Chambers regularly appear in Trading Standards prosecutions where the accused is charged with offences of selling or distributing counterfeit goods, contrary to section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1992. Members are very familiar with the issues that often arise in these cases, such as whether the registered trademark has been infringed and, if so, whether the accused can rely on the statutory defence of reasonable belief.
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